A Mother's Determination
by The Sentinel of Knowledge
Summary: Four months before Naruto's birth and the Kyuubi's attack, Kushina stumbles upon Minato's contingency plan; the Shikifuijin.Shocked that her husband would go so far to protect Konoha and likely leave their son as an orphan, Kushina makes a decision that will change the fate of the Shinobi world; she will learn the Shikifuijin and sacrifice herself if the time comes. Red Head!Naruto


A Mother's Determination

Summary: Four months before Naruto's birth and the Kyuubi's subsequent attack, Kushina stumbles upon Minato's contingency plan; the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Shocked that her husband would go so far to protect Konoha and likely leave their son as an orphan in the process, Kushina makes a decision that will change the fate of the Shinobi world; she will learn the Shikifuijin and sacrifice herself if the time comes. Red-head! Naruto. AU.

* * *

Sitting on an expensive looking green couch in the Hokage's Manor was a very grumpy red headed woman. Wearing a scowl on her slightly chubby face, she angrily tapped her feet and fingers, her violet eyes showing her extreme impatience before they widened and she doubled over in surprise.

Kushina grunted as she felt her little boys kick. "Why do you always kick my kidneys you little bastard, huh?" She good-naturedly asked her unborn child. Slowly getting up from her very comfortable place on the couch she made her way towards Minato's study, he always wanted to feel it when their little boy kicked, no matter how inconvenient it was at the time. Lumbering her way up the stairs to the second floor she oh-so slowly made it to the second floor. She hated how slow she was moving! She was way to impatient and hyper to take positively _ages _to get somewhere, similarly she was also unable to just sit around and do nothing.

Grumbling under her breath she started to bang on the study's door. "Minato! Get your ass out here and feel my damn stomach!" she shouted letting her ire be known. After a few seconds her near infamous impatience caught up to her. "Minato if you don't get out her right now and feel your child kick then I'm going to bust this damn door down and have him kick your face in!" She knew he'd be out after that, he wouldn't let her do anything too strenuous because of the baby, and unfortunately that included just about everything her brusque self would normally do.

After a whole five seconds had passed without her husband opening his study's door, and really that was enough knowing Minato's speed, she decided to follow through with her threat, and she would do so with great relish.

"You asked for it Minato!" She screamed, part anger and part excitement.

Lifting her leg up, using chakra to balance to greatly unbalanced body, really she could hardly _walk _without falling over; she brought her foot to bear on the door using all of her strength as an S-ranked ninja. Needless to say the door flew off it's hinges and crashed onto Minato's desk, breaking in half over the seal reinforced wood and causing a veritable storm of papers to fly about.

Looking around Kushina failed to spot the spiky mop of hair that was the signature of her husband. Sighing, she realized he must have used the Hiraishin to teleport to his office for whatever it was he needed to do. Figuring that she should at least move the door of the desk for when her pansy-ass husband got back she slowly trudged towards the mangled piece of wood that was formerly a door, she was sure the only reason it wasn't even worse off was because her husband had put some reinforcement seals on it. _"Of course not enough to stand up to my strength,"_ she thought gaining a smug look.

Reaching the desk she started to move the door of it when something caught her eye. Pausing, she grabbed the half of a piece of paper that wasn't currently under the door and carefully pulled it out. Scanning the paper she quickly realized that it was a seal array. In the mood for a good challenge, she settled herself on the floor, unmindful of the possibly important papers that she was now sitting on, and started to decode exactly what it was that this seal could do.

With dawning dread she realized exactly what the seal before her was. The seal she held in her now trembling hands was the Shikifuijin, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, one of the most powerful Uzumaki seals in existence for its ability to summon the God of Death to seal whatever the user wanted. That didn't concern her, what did was the price of the jutsu. To use the Shikifuijin, one had to sacrifice their very soul to the Shinigami, for it to forever reside it the god's stomach. She knew what her husband would use this for, of course she did she was carrying the reason inside of her, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. As their son, Naruto's, birth approached the seal that held the Kyuubi at bay would become progressively weaker until, as she gave birth, it would be near meaningless and allow the Kyuubi to escape unless their was a Kage-level Seal Master on hand, which both herself and her husband were. Like anyone would, Minato had come up with a contingency plan in case they failed at keeping the Kyuubi inside her, her fool of a husband planned to sacrifice his life to seal it into their child, thus saving everyone in Konoha and damning their child to the life of a Jinchuuriki. The only problem was that, even with her Uzumaki vitality she would not be able to live long after the Kyuubi broke free, at the _very_ most she could live for about a year afterwards, but then their precious boy would be an orphan, just like both his parents were.

There was no damn way she would allow that! She was not going to let her precious son live the life of a Jinchuuriki with no one there to watch out for him! Getting up to go stomping over to the Hokage Tower and give the daft blonde she married a piece of her mind, an idea came to her.

She was going to die anyway. If the Kyuubi broke out she would die, so why not her who used the seal? As a Jinchuuriki, and doubly so as a pregnant Jinchuuriki, it was impossible for her to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal because then the Shinigami would have to take the Kyuubi's, and now Naruto's, soul with it, which would not be an even exchange, but if she was no longer pregnant or a Jinchuuriki. . .

She was going to die anyway, no sense letting Minato go with her, no matter what sappy drivel he spewed at her! She was going to learn this seal and, if the Kyuubi escaped, she was going to be the only one that died, she would be the one to seal Kyuubi's chakra into her son, but with his father beside him, she knew her little boy would be fine.

Even if he never had her to tuck him in at night. Even if he never had her to kiss his boo-boos better. Even if she was never there for her son and he never knew a mother's love. Realizing all that she was preparing to give up, Kushina start to cry, but her despair only hardened her resolve. No matter what, she would protect her son!

* * *

***** Four Months Later*****

* * *

"You bastard this is all your fault! You did this to me~!" Kushina's scream of pain and anger tapered off to pained sobs at the end of her sentence as she slowly started to break the slab of rock that she was laying on, because her fucking husband was too much of a pansy-ass coward to give her his hand to break and grind the bones into dust! She didn't care if he needed both hands to restrain to fucking Kyuubi! She was in Kami-damned _pain _right now and it was all his fault!

"Aaahhhh!" She screamed as another contraction hit her, "Get this bastard out of me! Aaaahh!"

"You're doing great Kushina! I can see his head, just a few more pushes and he'll be out," encouraged the elderly woman who was delivering their baby in the cave that was miles away from Konoha 'for the citizens and their own protection.' The woman was Biwako Sarutobi, wife of the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Your doing great Kushi-hime, just a few more pushes and this'll all be over." Minato pleaded.

"Aahhh! Shut the fuck up Minato! You try to hold back the Kyuubi-fucking-no-Kitsune and give birth to a stubborn bastard with a big-ass head who doesn't want to get out you! Aaahhh!" Kushina roared and with a final crack a large bit of rock broke off in her hand and was chucked at the nearest ANBU guard, nearly beaning him in the head before he got out of the way.

**Rooaaarrr!** Alerted everyone to the chakra of the Kyuubi leaking out enough to form a head and express it's displeasure at those around it. With a grunt of effort Minato and Kushina managed to push the Kyuubi's chakra back into the seal while Kushina simultaneously gave a push.

"Just one more Kushina! He's almost out!" Biwako exclaimed, the sooner this birth was over the less danger everyone would be in.

"Ugghhh!"

"Waaahhhh!" Cried the newly born, red-haired baby, before he was brought to some warm water and swiftly cleaned with Biwako's experienced hands and then quickly swaddled in an orange blanket.

Momentarily taking a hand from Kushina's seal that was plainly visible on her stomach, Minato, a blond haired, blue-eyed man, wiped the copious amounts of sweat from his brow and shot a smile towards his new son before resuming his task of resealing the Kyuubi. It seemed like his precautions were enough.

Slick! "Ulck"

Hearing the familiar sound of steel through flesh Minato turned around and saw a masked man with a single eye in a black cloak holding a bloody kunai in one and his newborn son in his other, Biwako's cooling body slumped at his feet.

"Step away from the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki or your son dies at the ripe old age of one minute," the smooth voice of Biwako's murderer stated, as he brought the bloody kunai up to Naruto's throat.

Tensing, Minato tried to shove the Kyuubi back into it's seal faster while using his chakra to tell Kushina that she would have to hold out for a few minutes.

"No? Then how about a game of catch!" The masked man exclaimed as he threw Naruto into the air above himself, kunai poised to skewer the infant when he came back down. Dashing forward Minato jumped and caught his son, putting his deceptively strong coat between himself and the masked man as he thrust upwards, the kunai bouncing of the steel plates sown into the coat. Skidding to a halt on the ground behind the man he saw the intruder had already made it to Kushina's side and was starting to force the Kyuubi out, despite Kushina's resistance.

Cocking his head, the one-eyed man spoke calmly "So you caught him, huh? Well I hope you're good at cleaning up messes, cause your spawn is about to be a stain on these walls."

Eyes widening, Minato tore of the orange swaddling blanket to see a blanket of exploding tags wrapped around Naruto. Tearing the explosives off Minato used his Flying Thunder God technique to teleport to his safe house in the woods of Konohagakure. Appearing near instantaneously he threw the tags behind him and dived out the window before running as far as he could and getting blasted off his feet when the tags went off, completely decimating his safe house. Rolling, with Naruto safely tucked into his stomach and protected from all sides he got back up. That many exploding tags would have destroyed that cave if he'd left them in there, the only way he could get himself and Naruto out alive without possibly killing Kushina as well was to teleport away, leaving his vulnerable wife to the mercy of some madman. If Minato was the type, he would have definitely complimented his enemy for a very well played ploy. But Minato wasn't the type and right now he was just plain pissed!

Placing a few seals down he set his son down and activated the barrier that he'd just set up. _"Please be safe, Naruto," _he thought, disappearing via Hiraishin to the seal he had placed on Kushina.

Reappearing he was instantly on guard, he couldn't find the masked man anywhere. Crouching down he used the Imperial War Pulse technique to sense for the man's location. Shooting up in alarm Minato realized the one-eyed man had already unsealed Kyuubi and brought it to Konoha! Running towards Kushina, who was chained to a rock, obviously for the extraction, he quickly released her and teleported back to where he had placed Naruto. Expanding the barrier to fit her he gently placed his wife beside their son before the closing the barrier again. Kushina curled around their bawling son.

"Shh, shh, Naruto. Everything will be fine," she murmured weakly. Naruto started to whimper, as if realizing just how weak his mother was right now.

"I'll be back soon." Minato whispered, unsure if he really would survive against such a strong opponent.

"You better, baka. Naruto's cold," Kushina tried to muster up her usual fire. Smiling weakly, Minato disappeared.

* * *

It was a relatively peaceful night in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Ninja were going about their patrols, drinking with their friends and the occasional shinobi was out training. But on the sturdy wall that protected Konohagakure from its many enemies was a man with a mask with only a single eye-hole and a black cloak with red clouds on it giving of an air of smug satisfaction.

Making some hand signs the man slammed his hands down on the wall with an utterance of "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Kyuubi no Kitsune."

A seal array rapidly spread from where his hand made contact with the wall before smoke shot up, obscuring a hundred feet of the wall and two hundred feet above it. With a mighty roar that dispersed the smoke and killing intent that would make even kage level ninja's knees weak, the Kyuubi appeared in Konoha, crushing the Great Wall of Konoha beneath its prodigious weight.

"Heh, go on Kyuubi, crush this pathetic village beneath your paws," chuckled the masked man as a Sharingan appeared in his only eye. The mighty Kyuubi stilled for a moment before it's crimson red eyes were replaced with Sharingans as well.

Leaping forward Kyuubi crushed the building before it and waved it nine great tails, it's malevolent chakra flying of it in waves, corroding all that it came in contact with.

* * *

Kakashi shot off his bed eye opening in terror as he felt a terrifying amount of killer intent directed at the village, the sheer amount momentarily distracting him from sensing the enormous chakra signature that the killer intent was coming from.

It was horrible, sensing that chakra, Kakashi couldn't move. _"What, what __**is**__ that?!" _he thought. There was no possible way that . . ._thing_ was human!

** BOOOOMMM! **

Kakashi was barely able to keep himself standing as the chakra signature jumped and landed in the center of the village. And, oh Kami. It was it was so much worse now! His knees buckled and he couldn't move, he couldn't breath, he was going to die, die, _die!_ It was going to kill him! _"I-I-I . . . I can't take it!" _He started hyperventilating.

**ROOOAAARRR!**

Kakashi covered his ears as he moved to the fetal position. _"I-I-I, I can't fight that! It will kill me, It'll kill everyone! Me, Kushina-sama, Minato-sen. . .No! I won't let Minato-sensei die!"_ The protection of the only family he had left was the most important thing right now! Even if he could only give Minato Sensei a few extra seconds, he had to try to fight this monster!

Gathering himself, Kakashi quickly changed into his Jounin attire and grabbed his equipment before leaping out his window. Flipping in midair so that his feet hit the wall of the building adjacent his own, Kakashi started to run to the roof of it, from there he would have a clear line of sight to whatever was attacking his village.

Reaching the top of the building he paused. The sight before him could not possibly be true. There was no conceivable way! Why would the Kyuubi attack Konoha? How could they not have known it was on its way?!

Kakashi's shock almost got him killed. Out of the corner of his exposed eye, in his haste to get here he had forgotten to uncover his sharingan, he saw a red blur coming towards him. Jumping back Kakashi clearly saw the Kyuubi's long red tail smash apart the building he had just been standing on.

Landing on his apartment building's roof, Kakashi shakily reached up and uncovered his Sharingan eye as the Kyuubi looked towards the sky, parted its massive building sized jaws and roared to the heavens.

**ROOOAAARRR!**

The shockwaves from the earth-shattering howl nearly blew Kakashi off of the building and only using his chakra to attach himself to the roof saved him. Looking back to the Kyuubi's head he thought he saw, for only the briefest moment, the Sharingan spinning in the Kyuubi's eyes, but it was gone almost immediately afterwards. There was no way it was actually there, his fear must have been playing tricks on him, because if it wasn't that would mean. . .that would mean that an Uchiha was behind this.

Putting aside his impossible thoughts, no human could possibly control a being as powerful and destructive as the Kyuubi no Kitsune, he shot away, going towards the nearest chakra signature that he could feel over the bijuu's oppressive aura.

He barely made it towards Maito Gai without dying from the demon's flailing tails and the mass amounts of debris that they caused.

"Gai! Where are the others?" Kakashi yelled out, worry gnawing at him.

"Ah! Kakashi, my most hip and youthful rival! They shall be here shortly!" Gai stated, he was a better sensor than Kakashi, though neither were good enough sensors to be classified as such.

True to his word, Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, Genma and some of the others from their generation arrived, all of them hiding their terror behind a mask of professionalism with varying degrees of success.

"Is everyone okay?" Kurenai called once she got within earshot. Before anyone could think to respond a huge piece of debris came flying towards them. Jumping off almost all of them made it down to street level, but Sayuri and Hibiki* both were too slow and ended up crushed beneath the building, Hibiki's chest and head sticking out and leaving him alive long enough to look towards his friends before he died.

Everyone was too shocked to move when Kurenai's father arrived and encased them in a barrier before they could try to escape. Snapping out of their shock, Kurenai stared at her father in betrayal.

"Tou-san what are you doing!? Let us out, we have to fight!" Kurenai screamed, beating against the barrier's walls as tears started to fall from her eyes. She had to be out there! She couldn't let her father go off and fight by himself, she'd already lost her mother in the Kyuubi's initial appearance, she couldn't lose him too.

He looked at Kurenai with sympathy, "I'm sorry Kurenai, but Konoha needs the next generation to protect it when we fall. You'll have to be strong for me Kurenai-chan, for me and you mother. I hope you'll forgive me someday." With that their fathers and mothers, aunts and uncles left to fight off the immortal being attacking their home.

"Noooo!" Kurenai screamed, as she fell to the ground. She knew that she wasn't strong enough to break her father's barrier, he was a borderline S-rank shinobi; not even everyone in the barrier's combined power would be enough to break it. Asuma kneeled beside her and wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her as best he could right then.

* * *

Obito chuckled as he stood upon Konoha's formerly great wall. It was all so easy! Everything was going as planned. He'd successfully taken the Kyuubi from Kushina-sama, he ruthlessly suppressed his guilt at that, it was all for the greater good! He'd managed to one-up Minato, his traitorous, former sensei who'd abandoned him, and, hopefully, he'd managed to kill his spawn as well! Now here he was, watching the Kyuubi demolish the Hidden Leaf to fulfill Madara-sensei's dreams.

Today was a good day and nothing was going to derail his plans!

* * *

Reappearing upon a portion of the wall of Konoha, Minato looked around; trying to spot the masked man who'd attacked his family.

**ROOOAAARRR!**

The Kyuubi's mighty roar shook the earth as Minato turned towards it, instinctual use of chakra keeping him anchored as one of the Kyuubi's mighty tail swept through the Hokage Tower sending rubble and splintered wood flying.

His assailant could wait Minato decided; right now the bigger priority was making sure Konoha wasn't turned into a crater from the Kyuubi's might. Reaching into his coat Minato retrieved on of his tri-pronged kunai before throwing it towards one of the few intact buildings near the Kyuubi. Disappearing with the Hiraishin no Jutsu Minato reappeared on top of an apartment complex a scant few feet from the Kyuubi.

As Minato was reaching out to teleport the Kyuubi away from the village he had to hastily duck to avoid a kunai impaling his head.

Turning around he was greeted by the masked man, black cloak billowing in the mighty winds caused by the Kyuubi's movements.

"Uh-uh-uh, Minato. I don't think you should do that," the masked man reprimanded Minato, as if he was a child.

Minato bristled, how dare this man speak to him like that when he'd set this beast upon his home! Pulling out another kunai Minato swiftly lobbed it at his attacker, waiting for the kunai to near the man before using his Hiraishin to appear directly in front of him with a Rasengan spinning in his hand. The speed of Minato's teleportation was such that no one had ever been able to move out of the way and this time was no exception.

But somehow Minato didn't hit him, no, he went _through_ him! Spinning around he was just in time to see the semi-translucent man solidify and turn towards him, red in his previously black eyehole.

"Kamui," the masked man stated with finality. Minato only had a nanosecond to wonder at the odd technique name before he was being sucked into a time-space vortex whose pull he knew he could not escape from by regular means, but his Hiraishin had always been an exception to the rules.

Teleporting back to the kunai he'd originally used his Hiraishin to get to this place's roof with he tried to recover from almost being torn apart by the Kamui's impressive gravity. The masked man, who he was starting to believe was someone impossible, because if it wasn't then it was someone who he knew for a fact was dead, turned towards him, the vortex fading away behind him.

"It seems Konoha's infamous Yellow Flash does indeed live up to his reputation," the masked man, who Minato grew more and more certain by the second was Madara, mused. "It seems I'll actually have to expend some effort against you," with those words a vortex appeared around his mask's eyehole as a long chain and a gunbai were expelled from it. Clipping the ends of the chain behind him to his wrists he brought the war fan in front of himself and charged towards Minato.

Forming another Spiraling Sphere in his hand while simultaneously drawing another of his kunai, Minato charged. As Minato was about to shove a Rasengan into the man's face he became intangible, just like Minato had expected, charging through him, and being enveloped in Obito's chakra, which was completely impossible because Obito's chakra would never become so twisted, Minato threw his kunai before using his Flying Thunder God technique to disappear right before he ran into the suddenly tangible chain.

Hiding his smirk as he turned around Minato saw that Madara had stopped and turned around, his chain resting right behind him. With another use of his Hiraishin Minato appeared behind Madara using the Jutsu Shiki that he'd marked the chain with before his last Hiraishin. Rasengan appearing in his right hand within a second Minato drilled the destructive ball into Madara's back as he dropped another of his kunai behind him, taking note of the paper-white half of his body before he marked him with another seal for his Hiraishin, the seal appearing right before the man went intangible again. Using the Hiraishin to go back to his starting point on the building he watched as Madara got back up, giving Minato a murderous glare as he turned around, kicking the kunai Minato had dropped away from himself.

With a smirk Minato appeared in front of Madara and slammed his fingers into the man's stomach, fiery kanji on his fingertips. "Keiyaku Fuin," he stated. The contract seal quickly spread from his fingers over Madara's chest, removing his control of the Kyuubi.

"Oof," Madara grunted as he felt his control over the Kyuubi disappear.

* * *

**ROOAAA-**

Kyuubi stopped mid-roar, blinking as it turned its massive head from side to side, before rage quickly overtook its features. _'How dare that sack of Uchiha flesh try to control ME! I'll make him pay, him and that miserable clan!'_

The Kyuubi parted is enormous jaws, black and white chakra gathering in front of it as the earth-shattering Bijudama was formed.

* * *

"You may have taken the Kyuubi from my control Minato, but its still here, and its pissed at your village. Kukuku, have fun, Minato," Madara laughed as he was sucked into the vortex in his mask's eyehole.

Scowling at not being able to finish the ancient shinobi off he turned towards the Kyuubi and saw the Tailed Beast Bomb forming in front of it. Cursing he threw a kunai the closest building in front of the Kyuubi, another apartment complex, and teleported.

He quickly scooped up his Hiraishin kunai and modified the seal on its handle with a quick application of chakra and a twist of his fingers before holding it up in the path of the Bijudama.

**ROOOAAARRRR!**

With a massive roar the Kyuubi released the mass amounts of chakra in front of its jaws in an all consuming ball of destruction, only for it to be immediately sucked into a miniscule kunai held in the hands of the Yondaime. With another modification of the seal the giant bomb suddenly appeared miles to the north, obliterating acres of forest.

A deep rumble was heard as the Kyuubi growled in anger at its attack being so casually deflected, before what seemed to be a shiny splinter of metal came flying past the Kyuubi's face. Giving it no further attention the Nine-Tailed Fox turned back towards the flesh bag who'd dared to defy it, only to see him disappear in a flash of yellow light.

"Summoning Technique: Food Cart Destroyer!" Minato bellowed as he summoned Gamabunta, boss summon of the toads, on top of the Kyuubi.

Kyuubi collapsed under the unexpected weight of the multi-ton toad boss, as Minato jumped down onto the fox's head. Flailing his tails and straining to lift the toad off its back, the Kyuubi shook its head while snapping its jaws trying to get that _human_ who dared to even _touch_ the great Kyuubi off his head.

"Hiraishin no Jutsu," Minato whispered, and with a bright flash of light the Kyuubi and the Yondaime were gone.

* * *

Appearing in a forest clearing, Minato quickly threw a kunai to the side and used his Hiraishin to reappear by his beloved Kushina's side. Lifting the barrier he hushed her when she tried to speak as he grabbed her and their son. With another application of the Hiraishin he reappeared several yards to the side of the Kyuubi as it was starting to get up.

Kushina immediately understood what was needed of her and, with a grunt of pain, sent her chains out in a large dome around her family and the Kyuubi to prevent anyone from interfering. With a slight scream she sent out more chains and wrapped them around the Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi roared at the feeling of the familiar chains that had restrained it in Kushina's seal. Trying to shake its head, and finding that that feat was not going to work, he moved his eyes to where he sensed the chains were coming from, glaring with utmost malice at his former Jinchuuriki.

"Kushina, I'm going to need to seal the Kyuubi into Naruto," Minato stated, trying to hide the pain he felt at those words. He knew he would die doing this, but at least Naruto would have his mother.

Kushina could only stare at him with incredulity as sweat poured down her body. "Are you INSANE! Minato I'm going to die anyway! I can take the Kyuubi with me, you'll have few more years before it reforms and you'll get to be with Naruto, we can't leave him an orphan!" It pained both of them to think of Naruto growing up without either of them by his side but Minato couldn't let the Kyuubi reform outside of Konoha's control, possibly falling into Madara's hands. He couldn't let that happen. No, instead he would do what he knew was best, for Konoha and the world.

Steeling his resolve he turned to Kushina, "I'm sorry Kushi-chan, but I have to." He hoped that he could lessen the blow with his affectionate nickname for her but it obviously didn't help. Kushina looked at him with pure betrayal in her eyes before determination formed in them.

"No, I'm sorry Minato-kun, but if you won't listen to me, then I'll just have to do it myself."

Eyes widening Minato prepared to stop her from pulling the Kyuubi into herself when he saw the seals she was making at an amazing speed, much faster than her normal speed, even faster than his own. She was making the seals to summon the God of Death, the Shinigami.

"Kushina, no! What are you doing?!"

Tears were streaming down their cheeks as Kushina finished and a great chill fell over the battlefield, frost forming on the browning grass. Kushina looked behind her, seeing a massive demonic creature with prayer beads in its hand, long, gnarly white hair, and a rusty, chipped knife between its oversized fangs. Looking down she saw herself in white with bits of red appear in front of the god's stomach. But it was not her, it was her soul.

Kyuubi stilled its struggles as it saw the same apparition behind Kushina before its struggles gained new vigor and its arm slipped free, his massive claws aimed for the family. Minato snapped out of his horror long enough to see what the Kyuubi was doing and teleport his family away from harm, hoping that doing so would break his beloved's connection with the death god and free her. A millisecond later the Hokage's family appeared on the other side of the Kyuubi as its claws impaled where they had been standing.

Kushina groaned as she felt the death god's hand rip through her stomach as they teleported before shooting out after they appeared and grabbing onto the Kyuubi.

"No! I will not be sealed inside a pathetic meat sack again! Not even the Shinigami will take my freedom!" Kyuubi howled as it struggled to free itself before it felt its soul be yanked from it's chakra constructed body.

With a pained moan Kushina reeled the Kyuubi into Naruto as she painstakingly bent over and placed the Eight Trigrams Style Seal on her baby boy's stomach. With a wail Naruto cried as he felt the Kyuubi's searing chakra rush through his chakra coils before he calmed down and fell asleep.

Kushina panted as she fell on her side beside her son. "He-heh-heh, sorry Naruto, that I won't be able to be there for you, to kiss you goodnight, to beat up the monsters in the dark, to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend. He-heh, I-I'm so sorry Naruto! But know that your Kaa-san will always love you! Do-don't ever forget that, Naruto, please," Kushina cried as she died. She didn't know why the Shinigami was taking so long to take her soul but she was profoundly grateful for it. At least she'd be able to tell her son how much she loved him, she though as her eyes slowly clouded over and the life left her body.

"Ku-Kushina! Kushina get up! Kushina you ca-can't leave me, you can't leave us! You have to get up Kushina! I-I love you, please," Minato sobbed as he shook his dead wife's body.

"I-I'm so sorry that you had to do this, I should have been quicker. Heh, The Yellow Flash, too slow to save his wife from sacrificing herself, I'm so pathetic."

With tears falling down his face he slowly picked up his wife and son and started to walk back to the village.

"Minato! Are you okay? Where is the Kyuubi?!" Sarutobi shouted as he and two ANBU hopped down from the trees around the clearing. Minato looked up with a blank stare before looking down at Kushina and Naruto. Sarutobi instantly understood. "So a new Jinchuuriki has been made. I'm so sorry Minato."

Minato did not want to be around people right now, with a quick usage of Hiraishin he appeared in his, surprisingly, undamaged house. Slowly walking to Naruto's nursery he somehow managed to open the door and place Naruto in his crib before he walked to his room and placed Kushina on the bed. Lying down beside her he held her to him and cried himself to sleep.

* * *

*****Three Days Later*****

* * *

Standing before the populace of Konoha on a raised earth platform was the Yondaime Hokage.

"People of Konoha, you have suffered much. Three days ago, when the Kyuubi attacked many of us lost friends and family, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. . .But I stand before you, and I say that we have prevailed! The great and invincible Kyuubi no Kitsune has been defeated and we stand victorious! While the village has been damaged and we will never be able to replace the people who have been lost to us, we can rebuild and those people will always be with us in our hearts, encouraging us and giving us strength! Today, the Village Hidden in the Leaves lives!" Minato shouted.

The people of Konoha let out a loud cheer at their Hokage's inspiring words. They would survive this, they would rebuild, and they would heal knowing that the monster that had attacked them had been defeated.

Waiting for the cheering to die down, Minato spoke again. "I'm sure all of you are curious as to how the Kyuubi was defeated and I will tell you. It was not I who defeated the great Nine Tailed Fox, it was a great Kunoichi by the name of Kushina Uzumaki who used her great sealing prowess, greater then even mine, who sealed the strongest of the Biju into this boy, an orphan who I have decided to honor with her family name. This is Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune!" Minato yelled out as held up the red haired baby that was swaddled in his arms.

The villagers stared at the baby in shock and fear. The monster that had attacked them was in their village? The Hokage expected them to believe that some kunoichi that most of them had never heard of had managed to do what their own Hokage could not and had sealed that monster into a child? A small, fragile child?

"Aahhhh! It's the Kyuubi! W-we have to kill it! It'll escape if we don't!" One hysterical civilian screamed out, inciting the rest of the populace into fearful action. Everyone started running in random directions, not caring who they ran into as long as they got away from the beast that would kill them all.

"ENOUGH! This child is not the Kyuubi! He is a baby! He is . . .an orphan," Minato trailed off. He wanted to tell them that Naruto was his son, but he'd already convinced himself that it was best if no one knew that Naruto was his son, assassins would already be sent after him because he was a jinchuuriki, but if he was the feared Yellow Flash's son? He couldn't let anything bad happen to Kushina's son and he would do anything to make sure of that. So, with a heavy heart, he decided that he would not tell anyone that Naruto was his child.

He'd thought that people would accept Naruto's status and support him so that he would not have to worry about threats from within, now he just hoped that he could give Naruto friends as he grew up. Decision made he spoke up, "Attention!"

Everyone froze. The Hokage's voice commanded immediate compliance, and it would be given.

"Henceforth, Naruto Uzumaki's status as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune is to be considered a SS-Rank Secret, punishable by immediate execution for anyone who speaks of it." To supplement his command Minato pushed out all of his killer intent.

Fright filing them, everyone agreed before running as if the Kyuubi was upon their heels, some believed it was.

Minato sighed as he looked down at Kushina's son. "I'm so sorry, Naruto, but this is the only way." Summoning ANBU mask Tora he gave Naruto to the female.

"Bring him to my estate and make sure he is well looked after, I have a village to oversee." With a bow the ANBU left.

"I'm sorry Naruto," he whispered

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**AN:**

This is my first story, unbataed, so there are probably some grammar and spelling issues. I also have a busy schedule so I probably won't be able to update very much. I'm in my senior year of high school with AP classes (actually I'm blowing off some homework to type this), sending in college applications, retaking the SAT and ACT as many times as I can, and a class to become a registered Pharmacy Technician on top of job hunting. Next semester I'll also be taking a class to become a registered Phlebotomist (blood taker). So I won't have much time for this, but I'll try to get the next chapter written.

If you have any question or constructive criticism please feel free to PM me or leave a review and I will try my best to respond.


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